Broadband and Recovery - the ARRA and State Policies in 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010PERMALINK: http://www.progressivestates.org/node/24536 [4]
Broadband and Recovery - the ARRA and State Policies in 2010
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) apportioned $7.2 billion to stimulate the development of broadband infrastructure and services. As the U.S. is now ranked only 17th in global use of broadband and information technology [12], the ARRA is not only considered a job creator, but also key to regaining long-term economic competitiveness for the nation. Moreover, as a recent study [13] documents, broadband is becoming a significant determinant of economic vitality at the local level. Although a limited number of grant applications have been awarded, the ARRA promises to still spin the wheels of innovation as the Administration starts evaluating the next wave of applications for the second round of funding. In the meantime, states have been moving forward on laying the policy groundwork for using advanced communication technologies to strengthen both economic opportunity and local job creation. This Dispatch will highlight the trends in the initial grants when it comes to mapping, deployment and adoption broadband, outline broadband policies that states have been pursuing (using federal and state funding), and why these broadband investments are so critical to the long-term economy of our states. Innovation in the States Under Initial ARRA Grants
Under ARRA, priority is given to initiatives that encourage broadband deployment adoption in low-income and rural communities, expand public community centers’ capacity, and fund the development of a national broadband map. Almost $5 billion in grants are to be distributed by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration [14] (NTIA) to deploy broadband infrastructure through its Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), and $2.5 billion will be distributed by the Agriculture Department through its Rural Utilities Services' (RUS) [15] Broadband Initiative Program. Mapping the Digital Divide: A key ARRA mandate is the collection of information on areas covered by broadband service. To this end, the NTIA has set aside federal funding to create state maps in order to show the availability, speed, and location of broadband access across the country. Mapping is critical for consumers and voters - who can learn where broadband service is available - to anchor community institutions such as schools, libraries, and hospitals, as well as for businesses that can benefit from this information and make investments accordingly. A comprehensive map of broadband availability is therefore critical to help policymakers determine where to allocate resources. As part of the recent funding round, the NTIA has approved several mapping initiatives, most notably in Iowa where a $2.2 million [16] grant will be dedicated to broadband Internet mapping and planning. Other states and territories [17] that have benefited from the NTIA's broadband mapping and data collection grants include Florida, Kansas [18], Illinois, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Utah, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Deploying Broadband in Underserved Communities: The NTIA and RUS are concentrating most of their funds on providing broadband access to unserved and underserved areas increasingly left behind in the global information economy. Some examples are listed below:
Computer Literacy to Promote Digital Inclusion: Beyond physical support, funds are being aimed to encourage computer literacy and the skills needed to take advantage of communication technologies. One of these few digital inclusion grants in the early round of ARRA funding was given to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell [20], which is receiving a $780,000 broadband adoption grant with an additional $196,000 in applicant-provided matching funds to promote broadband awareness and computer literacy among vulnerable populations, including the nation’s second largest Cambodian population, low-income and at-risk youth, the unemployed, residents without college degrees, and seniors in the Lowell and Merrimack Valleys. As part of the program, University of Massachusetts—Lowell students will work in local computer centers with at-risk youth and seniors to develop appropriate training and outreach materials. The University of Massachusetts grant is an example of broadband investment going beyond infrastructure, through actual implementation and continued commitment. It is important to invest in deployment, but it is equally, and arguably, more important, to make sure that gains from broadband are distributed equally among communities and their residents. Various studies confirm that only a third of the population who has access to broadband actually uses it, so the digital divide and job creation can only occur when deployment of broadband infrastructure is accompanied by training and awareness. State Legislation to Promote Digital Leadership
In order to strengthen their ability to receive federal funding and to better manage their existing digital resources, state legislatures have been proposing and enacting a wide range of policies to promote their states' digital leadership. Commissions to Oversee State Broadband Efforts: In an effort to either receive funding or support ARRA broadband goals, states are introducing and passing bills to adopt or deploy broadband, or map its availability throughout their jurisdictions. With Oregon's HB 2168 [22] creating a state goal to support the rapid deployment of broadband telecommunications services in areas where the services do not exist, HB 3158 [23] established the Oregon Broadband Advisory Council (OBAC) and the Oregon Broadband Advisory Council Fund [24] to implement these goals and designate representatives from the education, health care, public safety, telecommunications, and government sectors to report on the affordability and accessibility of broadband and the extent of broadband technology use in energy management, education, government, and the telehealth industries.
Other similar efforts include:
For states looking to create or enhance commissions in their own states, the Progressive States Network laid out best practices for such commissions in our Guiding Principles for Broadband Strategy Councils. [38] Supporting Deployment in Underserved Communities: A few states are working to move beyond planning to directly encourage broadband expansion. With a heavily rural population, Maine has been a leader in working with private entities to maximize broadband deployment. Maine's HP 585 [39] gave the Public Utilities Commission the authority to require a communications service provider that is providing broadband coverage within at least 50% of a municipality's geographic area to expand its broadband coverage to all of the geographic area within that municipality. HB 700 [26] required the Broadband Commission to advise the University of Maine System on how to lease or sell excess broadband capacity and negotiate lease or sales agreements with service providers to ensure they benefit the educational system and meet the goal of broadband access for everyone in the State. Recently, HP 1174 [40] has been introduced to establish a Broadband policy: promoting sustainable private investment to increase broadband service that exceeds the minimum levels throughout the state, and developing target prices and competitively neutral discounts to customers in areas where services are more expensive than the average metropolitan rates.
Other examples of state action on deployment include:
Promoting Digital Inclusion: Online training and education is particularly needed for communities that currently have limited access to the Internet: African Americans and Latinos [47], the elderly and disabled, and residents of rural areas - who can explore educational and professional opportunities and find resources for entrepreneurial assistance. In an era where entry-level jobs require a familiarity with the Internet, access to and knowledge of broadband applications is essential to economic survival. As advocated by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies [48], state legislators must ensure that broadband is accessible to consumers, through anchors institutions, community based organizations, and within the home - in addition to being coupled with digital literacy training. As we noted last year [49], Washington has been a leader in digital inclusion programs with HB 1701 [43], creating a menu of digital inclusion programs through its Community Technology Opportunity Program, which will promote Internet adoption, training, and skill-building opportunities; access to hardware and software; digital inclusion and digital media literacy; development of locally relevant content; and organizational and capacity building support to community technology programs throughout the state. See also PSN's Guiding Principles for Digital Inclusion Policies [50] for other best practices.
Connecting Job Creation to Broadband Efforts: States are increasingly creating complementary job creation programs connected to their broadband efforts:
How Broadband Delivers Economic Growth
Before we even mark the ARRA's first anniversary, states have already found that mapping, deployment, and adoption efforts lead to economic development. For instance, Kentucky's HB 204 [55] concludes that its ConnectKentucky project to promote deployment and adoption of broadband services has resulted in enhanced economic development and public safety for Kentucky communities, improved health care and educational opportunities, and a better quality of life for Kentucky citizens. A recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California [13] found that areas with broadband saw employment growth 6.4 percent higher than areas without it in the period from 1999 to 2006, with the highest employment growth where technology services represent a larger share of local industry’s inputs. Careful analysis in the report indicates that this relationship is not incidental but a causal relationship between deployment and subsequent economic growth. This report confirms findings by earlier studies from such organizations as the Brookings Institution [56], which estimated that for every one percentage point increase in broadband penetration in a state, employment increases by 0.2 to 0.3 percent per year. Other studies estimate that in the early stages of the Internet, information technologies were responsible for two-thirds of total growth in productivity [57] and that for every dollar invested in broadband, the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment [58]. In a report to the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Broadband Coalition [57] - representing more than 160 organizations that include communication providers, labor unions, consumer groups, educational institutions, and units of state and local government - estimated that investment in broadband can create or retain 1 million to 2.5 million jobs. Among broadband's greatest advantages is its intersection with various sectors of the economy: with energy through smart grid technologies, health care through telehealth, agriculture through crop and irrigation management, transportation through traffic management, and homeland security through mobile detention systems. The Need to Address Economic Inequality: One important finding in the recent Public Policy Institute study is that while broadband leads to job growth, the benefits are not equally distributed within communities. Wages do not always increase and the concentration of workers in a few high-tech enclaves may retain local tax revenues in municipalities that host information technology companies. Broadband expansion needs to be encouraged, the study concludes, but to address the digital divide, funds invested in its expansion "might have a large effect on economic or social outcomes if the funds were allocated instead toward subsidizing broadband adoption or other needs of disadvantaged households." This highlights again why digital inclusion and training programs are important as a complement to paying for the physical wiring of our nation, as very few state or federal funds have been apportioned to such broadband use and training programs. The Next Round of ARRA Grants
With the intention to increase efficiency in the next application review process, the NTIA and RUS announced in January the availability of $4.8 billion for the second round of ARRA funding. As the NTIA and RUS are ready to implement their new standards, the agencies plan to accept applications from February 16, 2010, to March 15, 2010, and will announce all awards by September 30, 2010. Lessons Learned: Among its most fundamental changes [59] is the NTIA’s plan to award at least $150 million for Public Computer Center projects that expand access to broadband service and enhance broadband capacity in public libraries, community colleges, and other institutions that service the general public. Additionally, the NTIA is prepared to award at least $100 million for Sustainable Broadband Adoption, which includes projects to provide broadband education, training, and equipment, particularly to vulnerable population groups where broadband technology has traditionally been underutilized. In an effort to expand more funding to unserved and under-served communities, the NTIA is adopting a “comprehensive community approach” [59] as the way that it will evaluate applications, focusing in middle mile broadband projects that connect key community anchor institutions. These are great steps toward digital inclusion. A series of workshops on grant and loan writing for ARRA applications are being held in various states by Broadband USA [60]. The Role of States: States are the advisors to the federal agencies that approve broadband program applications. As mandated by the ARRA, the NTIA and USDA must consult with state governments in order to determine which programs would best serve underprivileged areas, knowledge that state officials uniquely posses. The advisory role of states begins with their knowledge of communities that are un-served and underserved. This understanding continues with their assessment of which communities would benefit the most from the stimulus and would receive the actual funding. Not only do states understand the immediate benefits that loans and grants would provide, but also they can assess the long-term effects in their communities and how these can be disseminated throughout their states. With every incentive to make the money work, states know which ARRA funded programs would best compliment already existing programs, and how the benefits can be shared by nearby communities that are not receiving direct ARRA funding. As we wrote in our Dispatch Making Broadband a Key Part of States' Economic Recovery, [61] the Progressive States Network encourages grassroots organizations and other groups to seek the advice of their state legislators before submitting any application for ARRA funding. State legislators can provide knowledge of the results in the approval of an ARRA grant or loan. An example of direct state participation took place in Massachusetts [62] where Governor Deval Patrick played a crucial role in the approval of $2 million in funding for the development of broadband data requisition and mapping across the 351 communities of the state. Specifically, the funding will be directed towards building new broadband infrastructure that will bring high-speed Internet access to tens of thousands of households, businesses, and community anchor institutions, including the un-served and under-served communities of western Massachusetts and Cape Cod.
State legislators can provide vital information and recommendations for ARRA applications and they will also act as inevitable monitors of the implementation of the funded programs. We anticipate that state legislators will continue to act as watchdogs of ARRA program implementation. Furthermore, their participation is imperative as many of these federal grants will simultaneously go towards private companies, non-government entities, and ad hoc projects. It is important that state officials ensure that selected projects reach the intended populations and are implemented in the public interest. ResourcesBroadband and Recovery - the ARRA and State Policies in 2010
CBC News - Canada drops in UN communications technology ranking [12] Innovation in the States Under Initial ARRA Grants
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration [20] State Legislation to Promote Digital Leadership
Progressive States Network - Guiding Principles for Broadband Strategy Councils [38] How Broadband Delivers Economic Growth
U.S. Broadband Coalition - Report of the U.S. Broadband Coalition on a National Broadband Strategy [57] The Next Round of ARRA Grants
United States Department of Agriculture - Commerce Department's NTIA and USDA's RUS Announce Availability of $4.8 Billion in Recovery Act Funding to Bring Broadband to More Americans [59] 3 Steps Forward1. HI: Charges Ahead with Electric Vehicles [63] 2. US: For Students at Risk, Early College Proves a Draw [64] 2 Steps Back1. CA: GOP Lawmakers Seek to Suspend Greenhouse Gas Law Championed by Schwarzenegger [66] MastheadThe Stateside Dispatch is written and edited by:
Nathan Newman [68], Executive Director
Please shoot us an email at dispatch@progressivestates.org [75] if you have feedback, tips, suggestions, criticisms, or nominations for any of our sidebar features.
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